The Hill of Bad Dates
by Lilizuki
Summary: Misty is sulking due to a date go wrong, when she meets a stranger and engages in what could only generously be called "flirting". F/F


**A/N:** Yuri yuri yuri yuri yuri yuri yuri yuri yuri.

* * *

Winter had not been kind to Kanto. Her icy fingers had brushed against every route, seized every home, and filled its residents with a bitterness normally reserved for veteran janitors. The routes were stuffed with snow, the rivers had frozen over, and the power plant was working overtime just to provide people with enough electricity to keep their homes warm at night.

It was no surprise, to find somebody wandering the chilled streets in a bout of introspection. The cold had a way of clearing streets, and being alone meant they could examine themselves without interference, without the judgment of others, and only a stark breeze to hear them talking to themselves. Some were the picture of dignity, of somber class, like they'd just stepped out of a novel.

Others were stood at the outlook on Route 25, their dress too short, their coat too thin, and muttering angrily to themselves as they dropped stones over the edge.

"Stupid dress..." Misty grumbled, as she watched her latest stone bounce off of the river below. "Stupid weather..." She tightened her white coat, but it gave no protection to her legs - which now resembled two tall sticks of chalk. "Stupid date..." She groaned to nobody, and slumped against the fence. "Snow...who doesn't think of snow...like his car actually got stuck...I'm a gym leader for crying out loud...anybody'd think I was a hag who lived in the woods..."

"No, I wasn't over-eager." She huffed, at a thought that went unspoken. "I just wanted a change, that's all. Who are you to talk about being cooped up? You're not anyone. You're the one that decided to go out dressed like this. I should be blaming you! Misty won't let herself get beaten down just because some jerk doesn't realize what a chance he had!" She smiled a little at the thought. "Yeah! Just a jerk! That's right...there'll be another...after the last...few! Shut up, yes it is just a few..."

"Excuse me?" A voice came from behind her. Misty's heart pumped inside her head for a moment, until she realized that the voice was far too feminine to be her date. "If this place is busy, I'll just move along..."

"I'm the only one here, aren't I?" Misty replied, with a little more bite than she intended. "I mean. No, you don't have to go. Not doing anything here anyway." She flicked another stone off the fence, and straightened herself up a little. She ran a hand through her hair, dusting off some of the powdery snow that'd landed there in her moping.

"Thanks." Footsteps crunched on the snow behind Misty, until she could just about hear them stopping beside her. Wind whistled around the pair throughout their uncomfortable silence, until the stranger finally cleared her throat. "So...what are you doing here?" was exactly the wrong question to ask.

"It was," Misty took a breath, then clenched and released her knuckles. "...a bad date. Like you couldn't tell." She glanced at the woman beside her, and envied her entirely sensible winter attire. "How about you?"

"Going for a walk." The stranger smiled pleasantly at the gloomy girl. "I find that it helps stimulate the mind. More than being cooped up in a boiling house all day, at least." She paused and bit her lip before speaking again. "I'm sorry your date went poorly. That's just how it goes sometimes, isn't it?"

"Yep." Misty knocked a few more stones off of the side.

"...you're that gym leader, Misty, aren't you?"

"Yep. Listen, thanks for trying to chat and al-"

"I like your dress." She interrupted. Misty's cheeks became a little pinker than they had been all afternoon, and the suddenness of the compliment did her no favors. "I mean, I wouldn't have made it a bad date, if I were there. You look good." She went on, and turned her head back to the view.

"Erm, thanks." Misty likewise looked across the crystal river laid below them. "I'm not interested. By the way. Just so you know." She said, while her cheeks were still flushed salmon. "Flattering me won't get you anywhere! Especially if you're looking for a badge!"

"I-I'm not. I promise, I didn't..." The stranger adjusted her glasses. "I'm Jo. Joanne, really, but most people call me Jo. "

"Nice to meet you." Misty sighed. "Do you know what it is that makes people such jerks, Jo? Pokemon don't have these problems. You don't turn up for a battle and have the Pokemon run off because it's car broke down in the snow and you're left standing on a freezing hill in a stupid dress, freezing your nips off!" She took a moment to regain her breath. "Do they?"

"Not...in my experience." Jo's lips twitched. "With either. I'm normally too busy to date, but with this weather, I don't have time to work as much as normal. I suppose that's not very useful for your current predicament, is it?"

"Nope." Misty turned to face Jo. "So...you actually don't have much experience dating?" She shook her head. "No dating experience at all? You might actually beat me for worst dater ever."

"Well...I had one date. When I was a little younger, before I got my license." Jo answered. "But she was something of a delinquent, and she didn't much appreciate my nervousness. Thought that I was wasting her time, you know, how it is..."

Misty stared at the young woman beside her and laughed. Just a little. "Wow, you're...huh." She shook her head. "I don't know how you...figure these things to be, but, just so you know, we're not on a date! You could ask me, but, it isn't one. D'you understand?"

"I understand."

"Well, good." Misty nodded, as though affirming her own conviction. "What do you do, anyway? You said that you're normally busy with things, too busy to date. What's the cold weather got to do with it? Is it anything like my gym?"

"Most of the Pokemon under my care don't like it when the weather's too cold. We've had to move them into houses, so they don't get cold, set up some emergency heating, order extra food to make up what we lost in the chill..." Jo explained coolly. "I haven't kept up with news of the gyms, honestly, but if it's anything like the farm, you have my sympathies. Being a Breeder is difficult enough, without troublesome weather getting in the way."

Misty turned towards Jo, utterly bewildered. "You're a breeder?!"

"Yes." Jo raised an eyebrow.

"That's creepy! I can't date a Breeder, no girl could!"

"I'm lost. Could you explain why that's unusual?"

"You touch...Pokemon bits. And know all about their...you know." Misty answered, halfway between disgusted and confident in her assumptions. She shuddered. "Ask anybody."

"I believe you have Breeder mixed up with an entirely different profession." Jo couldn't help a giggle. "And not to mention, my preference doesn't lend itself well to breeding. I could no more breed with one of my partners than a rock." She nods at the small pile gathered beside Misty's hand.

"Well...still." Misty brushed some hair out of her face, to cover the light burning on her cheeks, and some self-ashamed amusement.

"Still...?" Jo persisted. "I was under the impression that it wouldn't be particularly relevant to you, given we are not on a date."

"It isn't." Misty huffed. "Your just being a pest, that's all, and thinking it. That's how it's getting into my head, because I can read it on your face." She quite blatantly shifted her eyes to a direction that wasn't shared by Jo. "So, you have no business talking with me, a gym leader. That's the only reason you could have to be here."

"I don't entirely agree." Jo disputed. "For example, my original purpose in coming here has been explained - a leisurely walk. If I expected to come across a stranger, of whatever attractiveness, I would have endeavored to wear something less...bulky." She demonstrated her point by flapping her puffy coat in the wind. "And I don't think we have to battle to enjoy one another's company."

As Misty pondered Jo's words, a mischievous glint formed in her eyes. "You're right...the cold weather is just making me cranky. Sorry about that!" She laughed and seized Jo's hand. "And I guess I can't say there isn't a, you know, some kind of attraction here. A chance meeting with a stranger, at night, while it's snowing? That's as romantic as it gets." She smiled over at the other girl, and pulled her a little closer.

The verbose stranger blushed deeply as her hand was grabbed, and couldn't find the words to reply.

"And you know..." Misty stepped closer, and gazed into Jo's stunned eyes. "There's something in your eyes that makes me...I don't know...it's like something special happens, whenever two people lock eyes like this." She leaned in, close enough to fog up Jo's glasses, if she wanted to. "If only I could remember..." She tilted her head to the side. "Oh...now I remember...a battle!"

Misty hopped away from the hoodwinked stranger and retrieved a Pokeball from her belt. "That's right! You know the rules: Whenever two trainers lock eyes, they have to battle! Prepare yourself for the non-stop aquatic onslaught that is Misty!"

"I..." Confusion ruled Jo's face until what just happened dawned on her, and her cheeks remembered that salmon-pink wasn't their natural color. "Oh. Yes. Obviously." She chuckled nervously, and reached for her Pokeballs...


End file.
